That Sweater
by Ava Chanel
Summary: When a certain empath is overcome with chills, the resident green teen of Titan Tower makes a gesture of friendship with a measly sacrifice. Little does he know that he's never getting that sweater back. BBRae shameless fluffiness abound. Two-shot.
1. Chill Out

**A/N:** _Have something fluffy and sweet between these two Titans. The story was originally a one-shot, but I decided for a natural flow of things, it would fit better as a two-shot. Already have the second chapter written, it simply needs a quick edit, but I'll post one up at a time to gauge what everyone thinks of it so far._

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 _"how beautiful is it that someone could make your heart beat so fast when you don't want it to beat at all..."_

-unknown

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 **That Sweater**

Raven woke up to a room that felt like an ice box. The cold nip at her bare skin managed to finally pull her out of her dreams and cause her to realize that she'd been shivering in the real world as well. While asleep, she'd curled up into a tight ball, unmoving in her sheets in an effort to keep some form of body heat, for not even her blankets were retaining any warmth if they remained exposed. The tip of her nose had practically gone numb, and her exposed shoulders were cold to the touch. In fact, the empath was fairly certain that she may as well have crawled into the Titan's freezer with her blankets and pillow to sleep for the night.

As she opened her eyes and scanned the contents of her dark room, she wondered how early it was in the morning and why on earth it had suddenly gotten so cold. Cyborg and Starfire typically amped up the heat during the coldest months in Jump City, and it wasn't uncommon that both Robin and Raven would opt to sleep with a crack of the window open in order to get a decent night's rest. Beast Boy, on the other hand, never truly cared one way or the other. Naturally, it was an ongoing argument that split the Titans in half almost every winter due to Beast Boy's indifference on the issue.

Feeling another shudder run down the length of her spine, Raven wondered how the other Titans were handling the sudden influx of cold permeating throughout the tower. She'd only left her window open a smidge before going to bed the previous night, and the lack of wind coming through to dance about her curtains only proved that she was not solely responsible for the sudden temperature dip.

Desperate for answers, and wanting someone to direct her rage at for being awake at what was probably an ungodly hour, Raven decided it was about time she got up and puzzled out what exactly was going on.

Except leaving her bed seemed like a daunting task when she remembered that she'd first have to expose herself entirely to the biting cold outside of her blankets. As if on cue, her teeth started chattering. Since both Starfire and Cyborg would insist upon sleeping in the highest of temperatures, Raven would often go to bed in a simple tank top and shorts, a seemingly bad idea now that the temperature had drastically changed. Under normal circumstances, she had far more modest sleeping attire. However, she wasn't accustomed to sleeping without any sort of cover, and was thus unable to get a good night's rest without a blanket or, at minimum, a sheet over top her. At one point in time, she'd been desperate and angry enough to completely shut off the vents in her room, but all that had accomplished was to make her bedroom the coldest in the building. Finally, she'd deciphered a perfect recipe for a winter's sleep; vent open, window open, thin sheets, and less clothing.

Now, it seemed her formula was biting her in the ass with its ice wraith-like teeth. Letting out a great deep sigh, Raven threw her covers off of her and allowed the chill to hit her bare legs, raising gooseflesh along her naked, porcelain skin. She quickly got up and made a beeline for her wardrobe, searching for something, anything warm to throw around her and quickly shield her from the intensely cold air.

Aside from her trademark cloak, she painfully came to learn that she owned nothing of significant warmth that she'd be okay with having her fellow Titans catch her wearing. As if in defiance, the bright purple material of the particular piece of clothing she was thinking of, came in her line of vision. She told herself she'd never sink low enough to ever wear Starfire's ugly Christmas knit sweater gift, no matter how much her alien friend pestered her to. Not even if it meant that she was going to freeze to death. Sadly, her favourite article of clothing, although handy in many ways, did not offer much in ways of warmth.

Desperate, Raven threw her cloak messily about her shoulders anyways, quickly closed her window in an effort to shut out any excess cold air, and then rushed to open the door to her room in hopes that the tower's hallway would offer more heat than her refrigerator of a bed. Bare feet against the chilled tiled floors of the hall told her otherwise when her toes went nearly unfeeling upon contact. She was starting to think that maybe Starfire had a point about purchasing a pair of fluffy slippers for just such occasions.

As a cool gust of air crept up Raven's cloak and around her bare legs, she hugged the material tighter about her shoulders with a claw-like grip, subduing a shudder as it threatened to overcome her. Her fingers were like little icicles; chalky white in colour and frozen to the touch. If she looked down at her toes, she'd note their slight bluish discolouration, and feel the painful ache of the cold cutting off her circulation to them. Instead, she ignored all this and, with fierce determination, made her way to the living room in search of her teammates, and any sort of explanation for her current state.

What she stumbled across first would be, if anything, more a hindrance in her quest than a help. Although she had located a teammate, it was the only teammate who would most likely not be useful in her plight for warmth. Raven grinded her teeth in frustration as she eyed the familiar top of the green mop of hair from over the couch, already knowing she wasn't going to like what she was going to hear.

Beast Boy sat slouched deep into the big sofa, green legs kicked up on the table and game station controller nestled in his expert hands. The green boy looked almost bored by the action of his character on the screen, his eyes half lidded as his fingers mashed the buttons in a repeated fashion. Although it was mildly alarming to see the otherwise usually upbeat teen appear so uninterested in his favourite past-time, that was not what had caught Raven's immediate attention.

Heck, if Raven hadn't been so damn _freezing cold_ , maybe it would have surprised her still that the normally lazy changeling was awake at such an early hour in the day. The soft pink and purple hues of the breaking dawn outside of their tower were an indication of this. Light of day had only just started filtering through the building's glass windows, and was the only source of illumination currently in the living room, casting long, colourful shadows of the furniture and walls. If Raven hadn't been so angered by Beast Boy's nonchalant state, she'd have wondered if her fellow Titan had gotten any sleep at all.

"Morning Rae," he casually threw over his shoulder in a somewhat groggy voice.

There was a significant lack of high pitched giddiness in his tone, a key sign that he was probably cranky and tired. Raven nearly winced at his flippant attitude, but didn't seem bothered by his honed, keen senses at all. His animal instincts sometimes bled into his human form, and naturally, he'd gotten a lot better at picking up familiar scents and presences.

She still hated remembering how he'd sniffed at her once, the usual shade of green in his eyes shifting to more of a primal amber, as he'd invaded her personal space and gave her cause to blush a lot more than she'd have ever cared to admit. "Memorizing your scent, Rae," he'd explained to her in a husky, otherworldly voice, as if it had been a perfectly natural activity.

And maybe it had been, for him. For her, it had only served to make her flustered and embarrassed, the unusual spark of emotion causing a sudden wall of energy to burst and form between them, effectively shoving him away and knocking him to the ground. She'd ignored him for the rest of that week, angry mostly at herself for allowing him to so easily and innocently destroy all of her carefully placed barriers, but also because she was afraid to look him in the eye after such an event.

This time though, she was perfectly irritable with him, and felt entirely justified and in control over the matter.

The object of her annoyance sat there in a pair of navy blue shorts and a comfy grey sweater, barefoot with toes unchanged in their green colour, and fingers completely unaffected by the bone eating chill in the air. It was all she could do not to grab him by his shoulders and shake him until he answered her sufficiently enough.

"How are you not cold?" She finally questioned him, trying her hardest to mask the agitation in her voice.

Beast Boy seemed confused by her question. "Huh?" He couldn't peel his eyes off of the screen before him, too focused on the video game.

She stepped in front of him then, in an effort to command his attention, eyeing his shorts while effectively blocking his view of the television. "It's practically the coldest day of the year in this tower, and you're not even bothered," she then elaborated, as if he had been entirely unaware of both his outfit and the temperature.

Beast Boy stared up at her with tired eyes, still looking lost at her indication. He then leaned back into the couch, dropping the controller in his lap, and put his arms behind his head. With a sudden, toothy grin, a familiar twinkle in his forest green eyes, and a raise of his brows, he said, "Temperature regulation, dude."

Of course.

That was why he had always chosen not to partake in the legendary, annual temperature debate. The selfish teen never placed a vote because no matter what they'd squabble over, he'd simply adjust accordingly. It didn't matter to Beast Boy if every time, Robin's softness for Starfire won out, and they'd all be forced to give in to the Tamaranian Princess' plea for a toasty Tower. Meanwhile, Raven would suffer and endure, year after year.

The half demon girl bit back the rage she felt boiling up inside of her, her nostrils flaring as she breathed in deeply through her nose. How was it that he could be both so insufferable and insensitive? How was it that he could find emotion in her, any emotion, and trigger it as easy as one, two, three? Worst of all, he did it entirely unknowingly, and he wasn't even trying.

Frowning, Raven rubbed at her temples with her frozen fingertips, mentally chanting to herself in an effort to quell her temper so that she didn't start making things in her home spontaneously combust.

With a sigh, she then asked him a different, easier question; "Where are the others? And why exactly is it so cold in the tower? Did Robin open a main window again?"

Beneath the cover of her cloak, she was gripping her upper arms with her hands in a tight embrace, not really feeling the forceful way her own fingers dug into her flesh.

Beast Boy, oblivious to the internal conundrum Raven had just dealt with, shrugged before letting out a long, drawn out yawn that made his bright jade like eyes water slightly. "Heater broke down in the middle of the night, actually. Cy wants to fix it but he's waiting on parts he ordered online. He bought them today, but they won't ship until after the weekend, so it's gonna be cold for a couple of days. You should see Star, she's totally freaking out and it's driving Robin nuts." He snickered at some secret memory Raven didn't care to clue in on.

It was impossible for the empath to hide her disappointment at this new bit of information. Her face fell and Beast Boy's smile was gone the second he noticed it, his brows knitting in concern instead. "Hey, you aren't bothered by a bit of cold, are you, Rae? I mean, you and Robin were always the ones complaining about all the heat! Don't you like it this way?"

Raven, completely ignoring Beast Boy's concerns, took a seat next to her green comrade before finding the remote and changing the "GAME OVER" screen back to television. She flipped through until she found the weather network.

"...the coldest ever in Jump City history. So be sure to bundle up folks, if you do decide to brave the weather this weekend. We haven't seen a cold front like this in Jump City ever, right Bill? I hear it'll be breaking records. It's most wise to stay indoors these next few days and..."

The reporter's voice seemed to drift away as Raven allowed the news to sink in. She sighed aloud before recalling the company she kept.

"Great. Of course the heater would break down _now_ ," she mumbled to herself, already dreading the return to her frozen bed for the next few nights.

She was starting to get used to the idea of never getting a good night's sleep by now anyways, and apparently, her frustration was visible as she sunk into the big, spongy couch, defeated.

"Geez, and here I thought Star was the only one upset about this," Beast Boy remarked with a shake of his head, shaggy green wisps of soft, wavy hair moving with him. He was still smiling in amusement at the female Titans' predicament.

Raven would have rolled her eyes if she could. "Easy for you to say. Not everyone here has the ability to regulate their own body temperature," she sniped bitterly, nearly stuttering over the chatter of her own teeth.

His eyes widened at her remark, before he shook his head in protest and grinned sheepishly in her direction. "I usually just run hotter than normal, and to be entirely honest, the body temperature regulation thing doesn't work so well when I'm not awake. Luckily, by the time I do lose control of it, I'm pretty much already knocked out for the night," he explained in a rush, following with a nervous bubble of laughter.

There.

That was when she'd picked up on it.

When he had finally put it into words, she became aware of the feeling then, despite it being there all this time; the waves and waves of precious heat emanating from the younger Titan sitting next to her, like a fire only just caught, wafting gently as the chill sapped away at it meticulously. This was also when she'd abhorrently come to realize that she'd subconsciously drawn herself closer to him, noting that the once spacious gap between them had begun shrinking drastically. Her fingers could almost brush past his, their pinkies a hairsbreadth away from one another. She couldn't prevent the way her pulse quickened at this new development, and her breath hitched in her throat. Surely, Beast Boy had noticed. Surely, he was just being kind by not making any stupid comment on it. Was it possible that he was finally coming to understand the way her powers worked?

As she stared at him briefly in mild admiration and curiosity, she couldn't help but observe that he looked positively... _flushed_. Her fingertips, as if to have a mind of their own, twitched nervously at her sides as she tried to prevent them from breaching the small distance and touching the sleeve of his sweater, where they could linger in his personal space. Like a moth to a flame, she naturally sought his body heat, desperate for his answer to the question that was the persistent, thieving cold about her.

For a moment, she entertained the thought of being nestled perfectly against him, his arms around her as she snuggled into the crook of his neck, surrounded by his warmth. Almost as soon as the image entered her mind, she erased it with a quick shake of her head, flabbergasted that she was being betrayed by her own mind and body. It was the cold that was doing this to her, she told herself. Just the cold, she insisted. Under no other circumstances would she ever want to be that physically close to Beast Boy of all people. He was warm, and she was cold, that's all there was to it.

But she was so, so ever very cold.

A shiver ran up her spine as the quick nip of chilly air slipped past the barrier of her cloak, and she shuddered involuntarily a few times.

"Damn," Beast Boy's worried voice brought her out of her own tortured thoughts; "You really are freezing, aren't you?" His tone was gentle and serious this time, she noted. Very much unlike his light hearted pitch that he'd use telling jokes or stories to his friends.

Then, as if to test his newfound data on the most mysterious Titan, the changeling decided to perform a move so intimate that he'd barely had the decency to process any of its implications. With a swift motion, he'd cupped both of Raven's smaller, more fragile hands between his own, and held them there without any hint of emotion or regard for the effect it had on her. This sudden, bold action brought forth a faint, rosy colour to her cheeks as well as a dizzying rush to her head, and if she hadn't been so grateful for the warm flow of blood to her face, she'd have probably reacted similarly to the time he'd closed in to get a whiff of her scent. Besides, his hands were so, so intoxicatingly feverish. He hadn't been exaggerating when he'd told her that he ran hot.

Raven reveled in the feeling that was now returning to her fingertips even as he held them ever so briefly between his own. They were much bigger than hers, nearly engulfing them entirely, but somewhat still slender and, to her surprise, soft. She stared at the way the green of his fingers contrasted with her pale skin, admiring their differences because it was a whole lot easier than meeting his curious gaze and having to explain herself. Raven wasn't quite sure what she was feeling anymore, and she was terrified that if she looked up at him, her powers would burst like a giant bubble, effectively ending the moment and potentially destroying part of the living room, if not all of it.

"Your hands are like ice, Rae!" He had remarked upon contact, breaking her out of her eerie trance.

Raven was secretly glad that he still hadn't let go, although she was having a hard time coming to terms with not wanting to react violently to his daring touch, as she normally might have. She was also grateful for his mild reaction; the younger Beast Boy she once knew would have cracked some sort of awful joke, or gotten significantly uncomfortable around her, and point out the obvious awkward position they were both in. Instead, all he wanted to do was warm up her hands and not make a big deal over the fact that she was letting him.

When she was finally able to speak again, Raven licked her dry lips and said the very first thing that had come to her mind; "Yours are so...warm," she told him under her breath, still staring at the way his hands were holding hers, like she was just an outsider looking in. It looked as if she was perplexed as to why she wasn't so opposed to it, like she normally would have been; like there was a part of her that was silenced as a mere observer while she succumbed to a baser instinct.

"I told you," he started, his voice a touch lower than it had been earlier, "I run hotter than normal...Gonna steal all my body heat now, Rae?"

He chuckled lightly, and yet again, Raven felt a wave of heat move up her neck. He was like a furnace, and she the chill of a winter's night.

It was sudden, like a bucket of cold water thrown over her head, when she snapped out of the light headed daze she seemed to be in, and realized what she'd been doing this whole time. What _he_ had been doing this whole time. Her hands came away from his in a blur of white before retreating back into the safety of her cloak.

Beast Boy only appeared entertained by her actions when he spoke, wearing a lopsided smile that had his eyes glowing a vibrant sea of green in the light of dawn; "I don't mind, you know. We can hold hands all you like." He teased, winking at her flirtatiously and getting the rise out of her that he wanted.

She hissed through gritted teeth, trying to control the embarrassment that wanted to spill over within her; "Don't push it, Beast Boy," she warned him.

He laughed at her threat, clearly not taking her agitation seriously. These days, he was less and less scared of her than he had been when they'd first met years ago. It was probably a key sign of improvement in their usually rocky relationship that he no longer thought of her as the creepy girl in their odd little group, but Raven almost missed the days when his teasing came to an abrupt halt with a single glare. Now, not even being pushed off and kicked to the floor by her uncontrolled powers was enough to deter the green changeling from bothering her.

"Alright, fine," he finally conceded, still appearing to be tickled by watching her barely contain her emotions, "If you won't take my body heat, which, I mean, I have tons of so really, I wouldn't care, then at least let me give you my favourite sweater."

Before Raven could so much as breathe a word of protest, Beast Boy was already taking the aforementioned garment off of him, slipping his head out first before following with his arms. His already dishevelled hair became more askew about his face as the static of the fleece lining made some strands stick up haphazardly. He wore a simple, light t-shirt beneath it, but it came up with the sweater part way, revealing a lean and toned green torso before falling back into place when he'd jerked the top layer off completely. For a boy who ate so much junk food, Raven wondered how the heck he still managed to stay in shape.

At this point, it was all she could do not to stare slack jawed at her fellow comrade, the emotions within her coming to a boil. If she wasn't careful, the TV would explode, and the glass of the windows would shatter all around them, truly exposing them to all the biting cold wind howling just outside their Tower. Raven was teetering on the edge of control as he removed her cloak to put the sweater on her. Her bare shoulders and arms craved the minimal heat they'd lost as her favourite fashion accessory fell away from her body, creating fresh goose bumps all along her naked skin. The action alone would have angered her, but she was so entranced with his next, unpredictable move that she could hardly bring herself to lift a finger.

Before she knew it, he was helping her put on the warm, grey, fleece lined article of clothing, without so much as a mention of her notably skimpier pajamas. Suddenly, it was as if his scent permeated all around her, as well as the heat he'd imbued into the sweater prior to giving it over to her. It kissed her cold skin where it touched, warming her, engulfing her in his very essence. Either oblivious to all that he was doing to her, or simply respecting her wishes, Beast Boy lightly patted the material down on her shoulders, arms, and back, smoothing it with careful fingers where it wrinkled because it was too big on her slighter frame. Since when had he grown up to be so much bigger than her?

"There," Beast Boy said with a proud smile, staring down at the way it fit her as if to feel accomplished by his handiwork.

The sleeves, way too long for her arms, slipped past her hands, allowing her fingers to find warmth against the material that now covered them. The hem of the sweater itself reached past her shorts, covering some of the tops of her thighs, before her blue cloak pooled about her pale knees.

"It's my favourite sweater, so I don't lend it out to just anyone. Make sure you take good care of it; the second Cy fixes the heater, I expect to get it back in one piece, no tea stains or demon marks please," Beast Boy informed her matter-of-factly.

Raven sat there, still as stone, trying her hardest to maintain control over everything she was trying not to feel. She focused in on the feeling of warmth, deeming it the only acceptable emotion within her at the moment. The sweater itself was soft and silken and warm, never mind that it belonged to Beast Boy. She was cold, and the sweater was warm. So what if it smelled of his soap spice and sweat? So what if it was his indirect body heat that was sheltering her from the frigid weather? All that mattered was that she wasn't as cold as she had been before he'd given her the sweater.

"It's soft, isn't it?" Beast Boy asked her, wiggling his eyebrows at her in a suggestive manner.

She nodded briskly in agreement. Raven brought her arms about her chest in a light hug, enjoying the way the warmth tingled against her skin, and basking in how gentle the fleece was.

"Beats the heck out of Star's itchy, ugly Christmas sweater, right?"

Raven nodded her assent again, still unsure of her own voice. How could he do this to her? How could he render her so completely and utterly hopeless around him with the smallest of gestures? All of her meditation, all of her chanting, and none of it could stop her from _feeling_ ever so vividly around the resident changeling of Titan Tower.

"Well, good. Wouldn't want you catching a cold or anything this time of year. You know how Star gets with her Tamaranian remedies. _Yech_ ," Beast Boy made a sour face, having been one to suffer the alien girl's toxic mixtures once before.

Needless to say, it had nearly killed him, and he often looked back at the event in complete horror while Starfire profusely apologized for putting him through it at all, stating she was unsure why it had all gone so horribly wrong. It turned out that no one quite had anything remotely similar to an alien's immune system, not even the boy with the ever changing genetics.

"She was only trying to help," Raven reminded him in a gentle voice, finally finding the courage to speak again.

Beast Boy sighed. "I know that...but you do realize that, at some point, we're all going to have to wear those matching sweaters she got us, right? I overheard her telling Silkie that she wants to send Blackfire a nice group shot of us all in them while she rots away in her jail cell, to help brighten her day."

He chuckled at this, and even Raven couldn't help but crack a small smile.

"Sometimes I think she's made those things out of cactus spines, the way they itch so fierce," Raven admitted, eliciting a deep, hearty laugh from Beast Boy.

As if their unexpected bonding at their friend's expense was too good to be true, the elevator ding set Raven into panic mode as she desperately put her cloak back on in an effort to hide away from her other approaching teammates.

Cyborg stepped out first, looking frustrated and annoyed as Robin and Starfire squabbled behind him.

"Friend Cyborg! We cannot do the habitation in this tower with such low temperatures! Surely, there must be something you can do until the box of heat is fixed?" Starfire pleaded, her voice as desperate as her honest expression betrayed.

"Star, we've been over this. The parts Cyborg needs won't come in until next week, and the weather is so bad out there that you can get frostbite within minutes! We shouldn't go out there until they remove the issued warning of extreme cold temperatures," Robin argued back.

Starfire sighed. "But is it not currently the same temperature inside as it is in the outdoors?" She hugged her arms and shivered. She was also the only one proudly donning her ugly Christmas sweater and thus, was also scratching at herself when she wasn't shaking from the cold.

"Sorry Star, but Robin's right," Cyborg told the red haired teen. "It just ain't something we can fix right now. My suggestion; get all the blankets you can find and stay under them in the mean time. Once the weather gets a bit better, we'll go out and buy a space heater."

Disappointed in her answers, Starfire floated over to the couch area in discouragement. She plopped down next to Beast Boy and stared at her friend with soft, emerald eyes. It did not go unnoticed that the alien girl also had on one of Robin's oversized, black zip up hoodies over her homemade sweater.

"How is it that friend Beast Boy does not feel the cold?" She asked innocently, pointedly staring at his offensive t-shirt and shorts.

Suddenly self conscious of the sweater again, Raven turned away from her friends, and made to go back to her room in an effort to evade their pestering questions.

"Oh, uh, this? Haha, well, I sleep in the nude, so this is nothing!" Beast Boy explained nervously, clearly fumbling for a decent excuse that didn't involve revealing the intimate action of giving up his one warm article of clothing to a fellow female Titan.

Raven, very briefly, pondered if Beast Boy was being serious about the whole 'sleeping in the nude' thing, or if he was simply trying to throw Starfire off the trail. She would have to remember to clarify on the matter later.

"Where do you think you're goin', Rae?" It was Cyborg who had called out after her. Nothing ever really escaped the half robot, half man's attentive watch.

She stopped, turned around, and told her anticipating friends the easiest response she could think of; the truth; "My room. Where I don't have to hear everyone complain about how cold it is."

She caught Beast Boy's eyes before turning on her heel, and managed to catch a glimmer of amusement in those evergreen pools. A knowing smile played along his lips and, before she could be distracted by him any further, she quickly left the scene, to the safety of her bedroom.

She needed to meditate like she'd never meditated before.

But at least she'd be doing it while being somewhat warm.

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 **A/N:** _The next chapter will be somewhat shorter than this. I struggled with this concept a bit, and still feel indifferent about how it went. I may come back and edit it for a third time, but for now, I think I got what I wanted across. Positive and constructive feedback is welcomed and encouraged. Thanks for reading!_


	2. It's Just A Sweater

**A/N:** _A huge thank you to everyone who has encouraged this story. Reading all your kind words has got me wanting to update this little ficlet quicker. Please, enjoy. :)_

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" _when you can't look on the bright side, i'll be sitting next to you in the dark..."_

 _-unknown_

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 **That Sweater**

He wanted to be angry about it. Every cell in his body was telling him that he had the right of it. He wanted to march right up to the door, take a deep breath, prepare his scariest, serious face, and stand his ground no matter the outcome. He wanted to maintain a tall, intimidating posture, as well as a tone of voice that conveyed his frustration without a hitch of pleasantness. He _wanted_ his sweater back.

If it wasn't for his guilty conscience, he'd have regretted the decision to lend it out in the first place altogether. Then he'd recall the image of her positively shivering out of her skin and it was like she was tugging at his too soft heart strings all over again. He'd be a bold faced liar if he said that he wouldn't have done it again without a moment's hesitation. After all, there wasn't a single mean bone in his body when it concerned his closest friends, and he knew it. It was why he couldn't be angry with her, not even when he was perfectly justified in the matter.

So, instead of approaching the empath and confronting her about the status of his sweater, Beast Boy was doing what he did best; procrastinate. As a matter of fact, he'd probably been procrastinating for a few weeks now, aiming for a personal record of the longest he'd put something off. After Cyborg had fixed the heating system in the Tower, the green changeling had been hoping that she'd have come to him to personally hand deliver the item he'd lent her. However, the very next day, when he'd spotted her levitating towards the kitchen to prepare her usual morning tea, she'd barely even given him a greeting of acknowledgement before vanishing back into the confines of her bedroom shortly after.

At the time, he'd figured he'd just have to wait it out; surely she'd give it back to him on her own terms, when she'd be good and ready.

But then, a couple of days turned into a week, which was now turning into almost a full month since he'd last seen his sweater. The worst part of it all was that he never even caught her wearing it! It bothered him to think that she'd probably just forgotten it somewhere in her room where it's comfort would never be known or felt again.

As he'd been pacing his bedroom that evening, building up the courage and nerve to finally break his silence on the matter, Cyborg had popped by with a challenge that would effectively take his mind off of Raven for the next little while.

"Yo Beastie, you up for a quick game of me opening a can of whoop ass on your skinny green butt?" He'd taunted, wearing a cheeky grin.

It was as if his best friend always knew exactly what to say to bait the green skinned Titan into anything he wanted. "You're on, tin can," Beast Boy had replied with a deep set glare and mischievous smile.

That was how, instead of confronting Raven about the mystery of his favorite sweater like he'd intended to, he'd winded up spending the evening playing videogames with Cyborg. He could still hear a nagging voice in the back of his head mocking him for all of his shortcomings and his irrational fears.

After about the fourth match where he'd finally managed to tie in number of wins with Cyborg, his fellow housemate took a break from making sour jabs and interrupted Beast Boy mid victory jig with some serious talk.

"So, you wanna tell me why Raven's been wearing your clothes, green bean?"

The question had taken him completely off guard, and it was as if someone had placed a single ice cube down the back of his shirt, where it was melting slowly in a chilling, wet trail.

When he turned to look at Cyborg, he saw the robot man wearing a bemused expression, gauging the youngest Titan's reaction with both synthetic and human eyes.

"You saw her wearing my sweater?!" Beast Boy exclaimed, wide eyed and also completely glossing over his friend's other, not so subtle implication.

Cyborg nodded once. "She walked into the living room earlier today, and it was as if she had forgotten that she had it on. When I asked her if it was yours, 'cause it looked exactly like yours, she stared down at it all freaked out, mumbled something I didn't quite catch, and disappeared back into her room."

Beast Boy clutched at his hair in annoyance while throwing his head back and fighting off a low growl that threatened to escape his throat. Cyborg's human eye followed him around the living room as the stressed teen took up pacing nervously back and forth again, grumbling inaudibly to himself.

"Dude, what is your deal?" Cyborg finally asked him once this behavior went on way too long to be considered funny anymore.

When Beast Boy's inadequate answer consisted of another incomprehensible mutter, Cyborg stood up and tried to help snap him out of it again. He pulled him back by the hem of his shirt and forced the shorter kid to stop his incessant moving.

"Earth to Beast Boy, why the heck are you freakin' out about a _sweater_?"

"Because she's supposed to have given it back already, dude!" He shouted out, finally managing to pull together a functional sentence.

Cyborg quirked up his eyebrow before asking the question that would have been on any outsider's mind; "How'd she end up with it in the first place?"

Beast Boy, dejected and having grown exhausted from his frequent pacing and emotional turmoil, finally slumped into the couch with a long, drawn out sigh before delving into an explanation. "She was cold, man. You should have seen her; she was having a harder time than Star. I felt bad. So I did what any other true gentleman would do; I sacrificed my sweater. It's not like I ever get cold anyways, I just really like that sweater. It's super comfy and really, really soft. Plus, it fits me nicely, and it's just my favorite one. I mean, I practically wear it all winter...," he rambled on somewhat incoherently.

"If you want it back that badly, why don't you just ask her for it?" Cyborg suggested, emphasizing the simplicity of the solution to his friend's seemingly minor problem.

Beast Boy rubbed his face with the palm of his hands, groaning aloud. " _Because_ ," he started, his voice gaining in aggravation, "this is _Raven_ we're talking about." He felt her name was enough reason to describe why he couldn't go through with Cyborg's proposal.

When his friend gave him the same unimpressed expression he reserved for his most awful of jokes, Beast Boy took it as his cue to elaborate on his excuse; "For once, I might have actually done something nice that she actually approves of, and you're asking me to take that and ruin it by undoing all of it. It's a total jerk move, dude! I can't do it; I can't be _that guy_ , you know? I don't want to be that guy."

He thought of Malchior, and how he'd toyed with Raven's more tender emotions, too, about how sad and upset she'd been in the aftermath of it all. He remembered how angry it had made him to see her like that, to know that even his unkind words had once cut her deeper than he'd ever intended them to. How could he turn around and do it all over again? He couldn't stand the thought of ever stooping to that level, of being the reason for her ever coming to any harm on any front. Not after everything they'd been through together, all the progress they had made in their relationship.

"So, let me get this straight," Cyborg tried clarifying, bringing Beast Boy out of his troubling thoughts, "You want your sweater back, but don't want to ask her for it because you're worried Raven's gonna hate you forever and you'll always be, as Star puts it, a _clorbag valblernek_?"

Beast Boy, too ashamed to verbally confess to the accuracy of that statement, managed to only reply with a quick nod of his head and his drooping, guilty ears.

Cyborg couldn't help but grin at the sight before him as he came to comprehend the full predicament his best buddy was in. "Man, that is the dumbest thing I've heard all day, and I just spent most of it kicking your scrawny ass in a videogame," he finally said in a hearty voice after allowing Beast Boy to wallow in a brief moment of silence.

"Hey!" The changeling exclaimed in protest once he'd gleamed his teammate's true meaning, both angered and surprised at Cyborg's reaction to his ordeal. It turned out that even his best friend was no less patronizing than his own conscience.

The bigger man then chuckled, shook his head, and patted Beast Boy's head affectionately with his robotic arm, further grating on the edgy teenager's nerves. "Beastie, do me a favor, and just go ask Raven for the sweater already. I think you'll be surprised by her answer," Cyborg told him, still maintaining his carefree attitude on the subject.

"You can't possibly know that," Beast Boy argued back, swatting the metal arm away from him.

For emphasis on how little he cared to discuss the matter further, Cyborg booted up the single player campaign mode in the game, took a seat beside Beast Boy, and acted as if the changeling was barely more than a breathing sack of flesh next to him. It was also his friend's subtle way of telling him there would be no more videogames until he fixed his problem with his unpredictable comrade first.

"Come on, Cy, don't leave me hanging here!" He pleaded to no avail.

The robot man shrugged his shoulders before offering up one last piece of advice; "I'm thinkin' you don't know a whole lot about Rae, and this is as good an opportunity as any to fix that."

Beast Boy rolled his eyes and folded his arms over his chest in a huff of defiance. "You sound like Robin, now," he mumbled under his breath.

"Talk to her, Beastie. Or never see your sweater again," Cyborg threatened, ignoring the jab at their leader and still staring at the television screen as he spoke.

Beast Boy knew that. He hadn't wanted to admit to it before, but he knew, deep down inside, that it was a possibility he'd never get his sweater back if he didn't approach Raven. The idea of facing her had him sometimes wondering if her wrath was worth one measly sweater. Until Cyborg had told him that he'd seen her wearing it, Beast Boy was content with assuming that she'd merely forgotten about it, having tucked it away somewhere in her wardrobe. He'd very briefly entertained the thought of sneaking into her room and stealing it back, but he still dreamt of Nevermore every now and again, and they were hardly pleasant dreams. He shuddered as he recalled their vividness, of the sickening effect that eerie place had on his body. He'd wake up in a sweaty panic, his sheets soaked through and tangled about him, if not already pushed off to the floor from an imaginary tussle he'd had with them throughout the night. With a racing heart, he'd clutch at his face with clammy hands and feel for the familiar contours and shapes of his features, relief flooding through him only when he noted the absence of the muzzle that belonged to a most unnatural monstrosity.

Needless to say, he knew he could never again venture into Raven's room unchaperoned or not, unless it was by the half demon girl herself.

Cyborg was right; he only had the one option, and if he wanted his sweater back badly enough, he would have to go through with it or risk losing it forever. Succumbing to his fate, Beast Boy decided it was time to leave the living room and seek out the empath. With heavy feet, he dragged himself out of the common area and towards the hallway, going through his head the different ways he could broach the delicate situation without upsetting Raven. A task far more difficult in it's undertaking than it sounded.

"Ease up, B. You did the right thing, and Raven knows that," Cyborg assured him from over his shoulder just as Beast Boy was about to vanish down the dark, empty hall.

He knew it was meant as a piece of encouragement because, with Raven, Beast Boy always had a bad habit of feeling like he was treading on egg shells, and thus, he often crushed them without meaning to. He never knew when he'd overstep a boundary, or when his good intentions were misplaced. It was a boost in his confidence to know that at least even Cyborg had his back on the matter this time around.

Feeling a little bit better about everything, Beast Boy resumed his march towards the familiar doorway of Raven's room. He passed by his own door, and had to force himself not to just chicken out and hide away instead, even if it was the easier thing to do.

He was going to do this.

It was the only way, he reminded himself.

As he approached, he wondered if their bedroom doors always looked so big and intimidating. He stood outside Raven's room and felt smaller than he'd ever been in his whole life, including the time he'd transformed into an amoeba. With deep, bated breath, he lifted his hand and steeled himself to knock, preparing himself mentally to confront her.

Just as he'd been ready to rap his knuckles against the imposing metal gate, the door swished open with a gentle gust of air, taking him by surprise and nearly staggering him backwards by the sudden, unexpected movement.

"Woah, there!" He cried out, catching his own stumbling feet just before he'd have crashed to the ground.

His presence at her entryway also seemed to surprise Raven, as she stood before him with eyebrows raised and mouth slightly ajar upon noticing him.

"Beast Boy," she acknowledged in her usual dry tone of voice once she'd regained her composure, her delicate features working their way back into their usual, stoic rigidity.

His eyes couldn't help but immediately flash to her clothing, but she'd wrapped her blue, shapeless cloak tightly about her, effectively blocking his view from what was beneath. Suddenly, it was like his tongue had become a wad of cotton, and he couldn't remember what he'd wanted to say to her. Feeling like his stomach was tied in knots, he scrambled to think of how he'd wanted to approach the topic, but ended up just stuttering and scratching the back of his head nervously, like a foolish little imp.

One of Raven's eyebrows propped up as she watched him with complacent, amethyst coloured eyes. "Uhh...was there something you actually needed, or is this another one of your horrible attempts at trying to force me into a game of charades?"

Beast Boy shook his head frantically, and seemed to find his voice upon hearing her accusation. "No, no! No charades, I promise," he replied, wearing a sheepish grin.

"Okay..." Raven blinked at him quizzically a few times, appearing mildly apprehensive at his new, strange behaviour.

Beast Boy gulped, growing frustrated with himself and his stupid, preposterous fear of upsetting the powerful empath standing before him. He could practically hear the hands of time ticking away precious seconds, like they were reminding him that the longer he just stood there, the more likely he'd botch his single opportunity.

After what felt like an eternity, Raven sighed exasperatedly. "If you have nothing to say, I've got things to do," she told him, attempting to push past him.

Before he could even really think about it, he stepped in front of her at an alarming speed, barring her entry to the hallway with his body. As a result, she was suddenly close enough that he could smell the faint traces of her flowery shampoo. If he wasn't careful, her intoxicating scent, coupled with her unforeseen nearness, would tap into something dark and primal from within him, and the last time that had happened, she'd sent him flying across the room. Unintentionally, of course. Still, his bottom had hurt for a few days after from that landing, and he'd effectively learned his quickest life lesson in the Tower.

She looked up at him then, challenging him with eyes full of a mix of well tempered anger and obvious discomfort at his closeness. Beast Boy had to still a tempting smile when he remembered that he now dwarfed her by a few inches. If he didn't think it so impossible, he could swear he saw a hint of pink in her otherwise pale cheeks.

"Get out of my way, Beast Boy," she ordered him through gritted teeth, her tone of voice a thinly veiled threat.

"Not yet," he said, bringing his hands up to the base of her throat impulsively, and trying not to stare at the tender, bounding jugular of her neck.

Before she could react, he undid the clasp of her cloak and the velvety material fell away like a curtain of blue, to pool at her feet.

"Hah! I knew it!" He shouted ecstatically, spotting the familiar, faded grey of his fleece sweater at long last.

Raven hugged herself, as if she'd been caught in the nude, suddenly self conscious.

"You _are_ still wearing it!" Beast Boy cried out victoriously.

The demon halfling was suddenly incapable of holding his gaze, opting to stare at the cold floor instead while also effectively remaining silenced.

When he took notice of her crestfallen attitude, he watched her with curious eyes. Her small, pale fingers, barely escaping the cuffs of the oversized sweater, fidgeted with the material of the pullover nervously, seemingly uncertain of what else to do. Her short, pin straight hair, the darkest shade of violet, fell forward to obscure most of her face from view while she shuffled her feet about in a timid manner. It was like there was suddenly a lump of dry coal in Beast Boy's throat that he just couldn't swallow when he really took notice of her strange vulnerability. He immediately felt consumed with guilt all over again, mentally cursing himself for what he'd done. And after he'd told himself that he'd never be like those other guys, too...

With a gentler voice, he repeated his thoughts without even realizing he had spoken them aloud, as if to finally understand their true meaning; "...You're still wearing it..."

He spoke the words this time like he'd learned something new, like he'd been so stupid for not paying attention to them before. It was like a burden had been lifted off of his shoulders as it slowly dawned on him.

It was just a silly sweater and, like his lucky penny, it was currently serving someone else a lot better than it would serve him. Why _was_ he making a big deal out of it?

Feeling the thick tension in the air as they both stood there, awkward and unsure of what to do next, Beast Boy looked around until he remembered that her favourite accessory was still on the floor around her feet.

So, in another grand gesture of apology, he did the only other thing he could think of doing without looking like a big buffoon, and bent down to pick up her cloak from the ground. He then folded it up nicely and proceeded to hand it back to her, feeling somewhat chastised by the experience.

Apprehensive, Raven stared at the soft fabric in his arms, silently anticipating his next move, like she always did when he acted unpredictably.

"Keep it," he told her with a genuine smile on his lips that lit up his eyes, urging her to take back her cape. Yet his meaning was not lost on her; she knew he was talking about his sweater.

Raven finally managed to look up at him again before deciding to grab her hooded cloak from his outstretched arms rather tentatively.

"Think of it as a late Christmas present," he told her with a wink before beaming at her, knowing perfectly well what he'd just given up.

As she watched him with a puzzled look, he was, for once, grateful that his skin was green and couldn't easily betray the creeping flush that was working its way up his neck and ears. He liked his sweater, he was perfectly aware of that, and surely he figured he would miss it. But he liked Raven a lot, too, and if he had to live without one or the other, well...then, the answer was an easy one.

Not being able to take the intensity of her blue-violet toned eyes for another moment, Beast Boy then dug his hands into his pockets, and turned on his heel to make his way back to the living room. He could still hear the faint, upbeat sounds of the videogame Cyborg was currently playing echoing down the hall, and he was feeling pretty optimistic about facing him again in a rematch.

He was still smiling to himself when she'd then given him reason to pause. "Garfield," she'd called after him unexpectedly, her voice carrying through the hall.

He stopped in his tracks, ears perking up at the sound of her voice, not missing the gentle way his real name rolled off of her tongue. Craning his neck, he turned to look at her with a perplexed countenance, not quite knowing what to expect.

She stood in the middle of the hallway, wearing his favourite sweater like it was perfectly hers despite its more angular fit against her slender figure and curves. She still held her cloak in her arms, but her eyes locked with his, and then, the corners of her mouth lifted in a sincere, sweet smile, the most honest one he'd seen her wear yet. It could have been enough to knock the wind right out of him, the way it graced her features and highlighted her usually masked beauty. Seeing her in such a delighted state and knowing it was only for him, _because_ of him, was a good enough reason to make him nearly change colour. He needed to learn how to stop his heart from doing that silly little fluttery, pitter patter thing it did in his chest. He was beginning to wonder if he had a condition whenever it would persist.

"Thank you."

Just when he'd thought he'd had it under control, two little words sent his heart into another frenzy.

Raven then tucked a loose strand of violet hair behind her ear and walked back into her room with a glow of bubbling yet shy gracefulness about her.

It took him some time to find out that he had been standing there slack jawed and in awe throughout the whole exchange.

He walked back to the living room somewhat in a daze and on what felt like lighter feet, still unsure of what exactly had transpired between him and the temperamental empath. As he took his usual spot on the couch next to his friend, he replayed the events in his mind in hopes of catching something he might have missed.

"How'd it go?" Cyborg asked without looking away from his intense match up in the game.

"Well, you were right," Beast Boy conceded, watching the bright screen without paying any actual attention to the flashing lights and pretty graphics; "I'm definitely surprised."

"See?! I told ya so, little buddy," his bionic friend reminded him, clapping him roughly on the back and nearly knocking the life out of him.

Beast Boy could still hear Cyborg going on in the background, probably gloating, but he was too busy drowning him out with his own internal monologue. It was a shame that he could never tell even his closest friend exactly how Raven had surprised him, or that it had been himself that had surprised him most.

It was when he'd caught her smiling at him, in that small, secret moment he would selfishly keep to himself, that he'd known why he'd done it, why it had all been worth it by the end; there wasn't really anything he wouldn't give if it made her look and feel like that again.

As he was just getting over the cloud nine buzz of having pleased his most toughest customer, the next morning, it did not escape any of the other Titans' keen perception that Raven was wearing that sweater again, only this time, quite openly. While Robin, Starfire and Beast Boy all watched her with newfound interest, the empath didn't seem to care much for their inquisitive stares. Unlike Beast Boy, who could feel the uncomfortable heat from Cyborg's robotic eye boring into him, as he was the only other teammate who knew about the origins of the sweater. There was absolutely no doubt that he was going to be interrogated on the events of the previous night; he could almost hear Cyborg's questions already.

Starfire, always the boldest one among them, floated over towards her friend first just as Raven was pulling out a teabag and mug for her morning ritual. The Tameranian royal then leaned in and sniffed a few times in her general direction.

"Friend Raven," she began, wearing a look of genuine concern, "why is it that you smell of friend Beast Boy today?"

The aforementioned teen's eyes widened like saucers, and he knew that Robin and Cyborg were both staring at him now in complete disbelief and perplexity.

Raven, unperturbed by the uncomfortable silence building about her, shrugged her shoulders nonchalantly and said, "It was a Christmas gift from him, so I imagine it has his scent all over it."

Beast Boy could feel his ears turning red. He sunk further into the couch, very much aware of a feral part of him that was reacting to her knowingly being covered in his musk.

"You mean you're okay with that?" Robin asked Raven, ogling her in the accused sweater, like she'd grown a third arm while in it.

"Would I be wearing it if I wasn't? Why? Does it smell that gross?" She queried, lifting up a sleeve to her nose and sniffing at it delicately.

"Aw, come on! That's not even fair! Just because I turn into animals doesn't mean I always smell like them, too!" Beast Boy objected, both annoyed and embarrassed by the passive teasing he was enduring.

Starfire shook her head in his defense before answering her friend's question. "It is not that. It is only that I was led to believe human customs would indicate such an action as one of a romantic or bonding nature, is it not?"

Ignoring the dumbfounded expressions on all of her other teammate's faces, as well as Beast Boy and Raven's reddening cheeks, Starfire pressed forward with her innocent observation; "And it is most strange that such a gesture would transpire between friend Beast Boy and yourself, most especially because the two of you rarely partake in the bonding of any kind. If such is the case, then it is a most joyous occasion!"

"Somebody, please stop her!" Beast Boy pleaded in frustration, not able to look in Raven's direction now whatsoever. He was so mortified by everything Starfire was, and wasn't saying, that he was of half a mind to transform into a green ant and scurry away beneath the couch.

"What is it, friend Beast Boy? Have I said something upsetting?" Starfire sought to clarify politely, looking about the room at her fellow teammates with a distressed and hurt expression.

Raven stood up abruptly then, drawing everyone's attention back to her. Her left eye was twitching and her nostrils flared as she glared icy daggers at the group around her.

"...It's _just_ a sweater. Get over it," Raven hissed through a clenched jaw, barely keeping her anger at bay.

"Coming out here was an obvious mistake. If anyone needs me, _don't_ come find me unless the world is falling apart." She left the room then in a huff, her cup of tea floating behind her as she levitated it along.

No one would dare follow her now, not after what Starfire had just insinuated.

"Thanks guys," Beast Boy drawled out sarcastically, stuffing his face into the couch cushion in an effort to suppress the scream of vexation that was bound to come out of him.

"I don't understand," Starfire looked between both Robin and Cyborg, confused, "Is that the sarcasm, or should I be welcoming him?"

The leader of the Titans sighed before offering a few words of comfort and an understanding smile to the distressed Tamaranian girl. "Its okay, Star. I can explain it all to you over breakfast."

It was a shame that Beast Boy hadn't had the nerve to chase after Raven when she'd left, or he might have caught her pause in the hallway and slowly bring up the collar of his old sweater to her nose, where she'd close her eyes and inhale the familiar, warm, woodsy aroma of its previous owner, taking comfort in its recent, treasured memory...

 _~FIN_

* * *

 **A/N:** _There it is. This had been a lot shorter before a massive rewrite and edit. I added a ton more to stretch it out, and also decided to mirror Raven's chapter with Beast Boy's perspective here instead. I do love a slow coming together of these two, and a lot of feelings are purposely left unsaid (until Starfire, that is), as if it's perfectly natural. Let's be honest; these two are naturally good together anyways, and I really wanted to convey that with this piece of writing. I hope it was enjoyable and, as per usual, feedback is appreciated and encouraged. Thanks for reading. :)_


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